Becca
Members
First, special thanks to Matt C. and his son Ben, Christine, Kevin, Tony, and my friend Sam (who may be joining us at a future meeting) for helping with the tank move.
I got some pics of the break down, but none of the actual move. Kevin and Christine helped get the tank broken down and transfer about 80 gallons of water, probably 150 lbs of driftwood, a large bin of plants, and all of the occupants to the stock tank that Jesse loaned us (THANK YOU, JESSE!) on Friday night. That all went well - took a long time, but went well.
The tank.....
My big, strong, friend had a work emergency and called last minute to let me know he couldn't help, so we were down a man. Lesson 1 - the best laid plans of mice and men go oft a cliff...
When everyone got there, the tank still had about 8" of water and was draining slow. Sam said something along the lines of, "wish we had a shop vac," and, suddenly I remembered that we DO have a shop vac. Lesson 2 - remember you have a godd*mned shop vac, and then USE IT.
Matt's son, Ben, stepped up to the plate, thankfully. Still 3 guys and 1 me were not enough to move this tank very far. We got it off of the stand, managed to get it over to the stairs, and then get it standing on end, where it had to go UP two steps, exactly vertical, because that was the only way it was going to fit. Then, we were stuck. Try as we might, there was no way we could lift it like that, and get it where we needed to get it. We called Tony, desperate, and he started to head our direction - from Annapolis. Lesson 3 - don't tell Tony you think you'll be fine without his help, Tony's help is always needed.
My buddy Sam had an idea, what he calls 'redneck ingenuity,' and brought out a ratchet strap from his glorious F350. We strung the ratchet strap under the tank and over 3 of the basement rafters, and CRANKED. We couldn't get it quite high enough. Then Ben said something about a jack, and we remembered, we also have a big car jack... Lesson 4 - always remember... remember... cr*p, I forgot.
Using the jack and some stacked tool boxes, we were able to adjust the ratchet strap so it would hoist the tank a bit higher and SWING (yes, swing) it onto the landing of the basement stairs, 2 steps up. ***Note, we used plywood and blankets as cushion between the ratchet strap and the end of the tank. Lesson 5 - if it sounds too crazy to work, it just might work, but might also kill you, so proceed with caution.
We then laid plywood down on the stairs, tilted the tank onto the wood, and looped a tow strap around the end. Matt and I stood at the top of the stairs and pulled, Jeremy and Ben at the bottom, and pushed. At the top of the stairs, the tank stood on end again, was rotated out of the hallway, and then laid on a hand truck and carted to the glorious F350. Tony arrived just in time to help us get it into the new house, which was really good because we were all REALLY spent. Lesson 6 - a little leverage, creativity, and hardheadedness can go a long way when present in the right balance.
I still owe some people pizza and beer, so I'm thinking there we'll have to host a CCA get together sometime in the near future.
I somehow feel like this was a remarkably blessed lesson in how not to move a large tank...
Thanks, guys, and gal, for helping to git 'er done!
I got some pics of the break down, but none of the actual move. Kevin and Christine helped get the tank broken down and transfer about 80 gallons of water, probably 150 lbs of driftwood, a large bin of plants, and all of the occupants to the stock tank that Jesse loaned us (THANK YOU, JESSE!) on Friday night. That all went well - took a long time, but went well.
The tank.....
My big, strong, friend had a work emergency and called last minute to let me know he couldn't help, so we were down a man. Lesson 1 - the best laid plans of mice and men go oft a cliff...
When everyone got there, the tank still had about 8" of water and was draining slow. Sam said something along the lines of, "wish we had a shop vac," and, suddenly I remembered that we DO have a shop vac. Lesson 2 - remember you have a godd*mned shop vac, and then USE IT.
Matt's son, Ben, stepped up to the plate, thankfully. Still 3 guys and 1 me were not enough to move this tank very far. We got it off of the stand, managed to get it over to the stairs, and then get it standing on end, where it had to go UP two steps, exactly vertical, because that was the only way it was going to fit. Then, we were stuck. Try as we might, there was no way we could lift it like that, and get it where we needed to get it. We called Tony, desperate, and he started to head our direction - from Annapolis. Lesson 3 - don't tell Tony you think you'll be fine without his help, Tony's help is always needed.
My buddy Sam had an idea, what he calls 'redneck ingenuity,' and brought out a ratchet strap from his glorious F350. We strung the ratchet strap under the tank and over 3 of the basement rafters, and CRANKED. We couldn't get it quite high enough. Then Ben said something about a jack, and we remembered, we also have a big car jack... Lesson 4 - always remember... remember... cr*p, I forgot.
Using the jack and some stacked tool boxes, we were able to adjust the ratchet strap so it would hoist the tank a bit higher and SWING (yes, swing) it onto the landing of the basement stairs, 2 steps up. ***Note, we used plywood and blankets as cushion between the ratchet strap and the end of the tank. Lesson 5 - if it sounds too crazy to work, it just might work, but might also kill you, so proceed with caution.
We then laid plywood down on the stairs, tilted the tank onto the wood, and looped a tow strap around the end. Matt and I stood at the top of the stairs and pulled, Jeremy and Ben at the bottom, and pushed. At the top of the stairs, the tank stood on end again, was rotated out of the hallway, and then laid on a hand truck and carted to the glorious F350. Tony arrived just in time to help us get it into the new house, which was really good because we were all REALLY spent. Lesson 6 - a little leverage, creativity, and hardheadedness can go a long way when present in the right balance.
I still owe some people pizza and beer, so I'm thinking there we'll have to host a CCA get together sometime in the near future.
I somehow feel like this was a remarkably blessed lesson in how not to move a large tank...
Thanks, guys, and gal, for helping to git 'er done!
